Rain
by Salomedancing
Summary: Hook comes up with a new plan to get to Peter Pan, and it proves to be much more effective than any of his old schemes.


**Disclaimer: All characters belong to J. M. Barrie.**

**AN: This is another old story, one that I really liked the beginning and end of, but never felt comfortable with the mid-section. It has been cut down and re-written and now I think it holds together better. My Captain Hook is rarely nice, but perhaps he has some redeeming traits here. Slightly redeeming. Rating for off-screen violence and a little kissing.**

Hook's cabin is crammed with beautiful objects. Precious things that the pirate captain has stolen during past years, slowly making his quarters into a treasure chamber. Here he resides, and he strives to make his surroundings perfect. He makes sure that he is dressed in splendour, despite that the weather in Neverland makes the heavy fabrics and the ornate embroideries cumbersome to wear, at the very least. The Captain has plenty of belongings, but he is not satisfied. He wants perfection, but even if he controls his men, his ship, his belongings, there is the one thing that is beyond his powers, and what he can't control he hates. Thus he hates Peter Pan with all the might of his black heart, and as long as the boy roams the skies, Hook can never be content.

Peter Pan never changes. You can say that's the essence of his being. He cannot change, because change means growing, and he is- after all- the boy who never grows up. To forget is essential too. Otherwise he would have to learn from his mistakes, and then he would grow, and that cannot be. No, Peter Pan is never going to be a man, and therefore he must be eternally what he always was.

Captain Hook is another matter. True, caught in Neverland his mind went stale, hunting Pan with the same repetitive monotony as the boy escaped. Years he wasted hunting the boy, always to find that Pan slipped out of his grip at the very last moment. Near-death changed that. After clawing his way out of the stinking, writhing, dying body of the crocodile, almost choking, more and more desperate to get out, he finally succeeded. While he lay panting on the shore it occurred to him that he needed to come up with another way to get at the ever elusive Pan. He has to start over, and this time, he swears, he will win. Peter Pan won't be the one who laughs in the end, not this time.

So the Captain sets out to get his ship and his crew- what is left of it anyway- back together. That is easy enough. Pan easily grows bored, and soon the Jolly Roger is abandoned for other games. Unlike Hook, Peter Pan doesn't care about belongings. He plays with what catches his fancy, and then he discards it, be it a flower or a jewel. One thing is precious to him though, even if Hook doesn't think the boy is aware of it. Peter Pan needs company. He needs followers, admirers, friends. That is what Pan thrives on, and that is what Hook sets out to take away from him.

Everyone, everything, he will take, but slowly and stealthily, so Pan won't know what is happening. Hook doesn't chase Pan anymore, no, he lets him be. Whenever he sees a glimpse of the boy as he roams the jungles of Neverland, Hook turns and walks in another direction. He hunts other things now. He hunts everything that Peter holds dear, however small and insignificant, and Hook will find them all.

It takes time, but in the end Pan will be all alone, and it is then that Hook will take him, when he is lonely and vulnerable. Hook sets his plan in motions slowly, ever so slowly. He preys on the Lost Boys, plucking them one by one, and throws the bodies from the ship toward the ocean side. The mermaids don't go there, as it is shark infested, and the corpses don't last long. The Indians, though harder to get at, fare the same, and soon the village is ablaze with worry. Their people disappear, and they close ranks against anyone else. Soon Pan isn't welcome there anymore, and he cannot understand why. Hook is pleased- when he gets a glimpse of the flying boy he can often see a bewildered look on Pan's face. His friends disappear, and though he quickly forgets about them, he can't get new Lost Boys at the same rate as Hook disposes of them.

Hook has ordered his men to hunt the beasts as well. The mermaids are slaughtered- when they can find one alone, and the Neverbirds nests are plundered, the eggs cruelly crushed. The fairies- those are not killed at once. Instead their small shimmering forms are brought to his cabin, and there he takes great pleasure of uttering those words that kills them. Finally the fairy he has been waiting for is brought to him, Pan's own fairy. She is beautiful, a few inches of perfection, and this fairy Hook doesn't kill. Instead he trashes her wings with his hook so she can't fly anymore. Hook wants her alive, at least until he has caught Pan, but Tinker Bell fades rapidly, and one day her light is gone and she crumbles to dust when Hook touches the small body.

The weather changes. The eternal summer turns, not to the cold winter, but to an endless dreary autumn. Winds howl, and everything is damp, a dampness that creeps close, chilling you to the bones. The crew complains bitterly, but Hook rejoices. Pan is grieving, and soon, very soon, the time will be right for Hook to set out to conquer. Not yet, though. There is still a smatter of flowers here and there, and sometimes birds are singing. There are still one thing left for Pan, still someone who cares for him.

So the day Hook is reached by the news that the Wendy-girl has returned, the pirate quiver in anticipation. Pan made such a fuss over her. The closest thing to touch Pan's emotions, and now she is back. Neverland is once again blossoming into a beautiful spring. Hook needs her. Wendy is the only thing left for Pan, and Hook wants her, craves her. It proves to be difficult, Pan is reluctant to leave Wendy alone, but at length there is success. An early morning Hook comes across her all alone in a glen. She is dreamily plucking flowers, and not until it's too late does she realise that she is surrounded by pirates.

She has grown, Hook notices. She is taller, and her hair is longer. The white nightgown is as voluminous as ever, but underneath it her body has changed. Still a child, but closer to ending her childhood than she was before. Naturally, Wendy resides in the real world, and she can't stay eternal in the same way as Pan does.

Wendy stares at him with horror and recognition, but also bewilderment. It's suddenly clear to Hook that she has no idea that he is still around. Which means that Pan doesn't know either. Hook almost laughs out loud. No wonder the brat hasn't made himself a nuisance to Hook. When the pirate chose to stop his pursuit, Pan must have forgotten him. Of course, the mindless boy never remembers what he doesn't see. How unfortunate for him then, that Hook hasn't forgotten anything. And now he has in his hand the last person who cares for the boy.

Wendy is already opening her mouth to scream, but she closes her mouth again when the Captain holds up his menacing hook in front of her.

"Not a sound," Hook lets the sharp tip touch her lower lip. "I'll cut your tongue out if you do. It doesn't matter to me, I don't need you to be able to talk anyway."

He nods to his men. Wendy's hands bound behind her back, and then they get back to the ship, as fast as they can. Hook makes Wendy walk in front of her and Hook watches her, and a new thought arrives. He had planned to kill her to break her connection to Pan, but must he? His bloodthirst is sated, he has killed so many lately, but there is one thing that he is sorely lacking in this godforsaken island and that is company. Wendy is sweet girl, he was never really keen on killing her and now it strikes him that if he can figure out a way to break the bond between her and Pan, then he wouldn't have to.

Back to the ship and his cabin he leads her to a chair, and she sits down wearily. "What do you want from me? I'm not going to tell you where Peter is, no matter what. And don't think you can trick me into betraying him this time."

"Oh, I don't seek to make you tell on your little friend. I merely want the pleasure of your company once again."

"You're lying. You never wanted me in the first place, it was all a ruse to get to Peter."

Hook leans down over her, Wendy stares stubbornly straight ahead. "My dear, to get hold of Pan was but one thing I wanted. You see, I truly am a lonely man, and the thought of such a fair lady to keep me company was indeed something I desired. And now, seeing you so grown-up, it's even more tempting than before."

"I'm not a grown-up." The protest is voiced quickly, but to Hook's ears, not altogether convincingly.

"But you are. And growing into a very beautiful woman, I might add." It is true, he realise, she is. Several years must have passed without him noticing it, time in Neverland is never easy to track, and she has grown more than her first thought.

To his surprise her eyes fills with tears. "I'm not a woman."

"You're not? What are you then? Pray tell me, do you really think you are a little girl still?"

"Of course!" She lifts her chin stubbornly. "How else could I come here?"

Hook shakes his head. "No, you are not a little girl anymore. And I will prove it to you. You see, I'm afraid that Pan can be a trifle blind at times. He wanted his little playmate back, and so he blinded himself to the more obvious-" Hook lets his eyes linger over her body and she blushes. "-signs of what you really are. I guess it takes a more observant person to notice these thing." He leans forward again to whisper in her ear. "A man."

She backs away from him, as far as she can in the chair, but Hook doesn't pursue her. Instead he leaves her side for a moment and pour himself a glass of wine to give himself time to think. Pan would want his friend back and Wendy, well, perhaps this has been the last bid for carefree and innocent childhood for her. Of course, innocence, that is what she and Pan share. She may cling to hers for the last precious moments of feeling like a child, and as long as it is so, the bond remains. He drinks his wine and thinks some more. Wendy is crying in earnest now, he can see that she is very scared and it would be easy to break her now. Somehow it doesn't feel that tempting. He could rob her of her innocence with brute force and then what? He would have a broken girl who would cringe at the sight of him. Hook finds that he would rather prefer Wendy to smile at him and lighten up his life than be afraid of him.

Right now she looks cold and miserable. Hook kneels at her the chair and dry away the tears with his handkerchief before he offers her the wine. She numbly shakes her head, but Hook insists.

"Drink, it will get some warmth in you."

She drinks then, sputtering a little, but Hook doesn't relent until she has drunk it all. Then he places the glass on the table before he looks at her again. The alcohol will soon take effect on her, she is young and not used to such substances, and Hook smiles. He helps her up and slice the ropes around her wrists and leads her to a sofa, placing himself beside her, gently rubbing the marks the ropes has left on her skin.

"My deepest apologies for the way you were brought here. I can only excuse it with a difficulty to change old habits." He let go of her hands and look at her. Wendy looks calmer and when he reach out to smooth back a stray lock of her from her face, she doesn't flinch.

"I'm not the same man anymore, you can't fool death like I have and not think through your life. You didn't know I was still alive, did you? That's because Pan doesn't know. And he doesn't know because I have kept out of the way. Doesn't that prove to you that I'm a changed man, that I no longer hunt for Pan?"

Wendy nods, albeit a little uncertainly and he continues. "But tell me, what is the matter? You are not really happy, I think. Not as happy as you ought to be to be back here. Is it because you are not happy at all?

Wendy hesitates, but then the words comes spilling out in a rush. "I couldn't say it to Peter, he wouldn't understand. I know I'm not a child anymore and I don't really want to be. But I don't want to grow up either. They want me to get married and to have a family and all those young men are so dull and everything is so boring and I want something else. Just something." Her voice dies away Hook nods thoughtfully.

"You want an adventure, something that thrills you."

"Yes!"

"Wendy my darling, you don't have to go back to a boring life. Stay with me and I can promise you adventures."

She almost smiled at hm, but then he shook her head. "Oh no, I have to get back."

Hook does smile and leans back. "Of course. You will stay here tonight, it is almost night after all and tomorrow I will let you return to Pan. But perhaps I could ask you one thing of you. Just a small token to remember you by."

Wendy looks up at him through her lashes, there is a little suspicion there, but her posture is quite relaxed and she nod. "What?

"A kiss. That would be a sweet memory to keep after you are gone."

"A kiss?"

"Just a kiss."

"I, I guess I could do that."

He leans forward, careful to not touch her and presses his lips against hers. It's a chaste kiss, mouth firmly closed and to his secret glee, Wendy looks a bit disappointed when he leans back.

"Something wrong, my dear?"

"Oh no! I just thought it would be a little different."

"Would you like another one?"

Wendy flushes and nods and this time he kisses her properly, but slowly giving her time to adjust and respond and then he can see it in his mind's eye, the bond stretching from Wendy's heart to Pan's. Like a golden ribbon, beautiful, but also thin and frayed, really just held together by a few strands.

When he breaks the kiss Wendy is more flushed and she smiles up at him and he smiles back. "Did you like it, my dear?"

She blushes a deeper red. "Yes, yes I did. Could we do it again?"

He kisses her again, putting a little more fervor in it and she answers and put her arms around his neck and Hook allows his hand to sneak around her wait to pull her closer and it happens. He can feel the golden ribbon snap, almost audibly and then a sudden gale bangs at the windows and when he breaks the kiss it has started to rain again. He burrows his head in Wendy's hair so she can't see his triumphant smile. He did it. Wendy might not be fully his yet, but she is isn't bound to Pan anymore and he is now all alone.

It still rains in the morning. The storm is over, instead there is a dreary dripping cold grey curtain. Hook feels that he needs to get ashore. He knows in his bones that if he wants to slay Pan, he must seek him out now, before it's too late. Wendy stirs in her sleep, she has slept undisturbed in his bed this night while ha slept on the sofa. He is good at exercising his patience and he predicts that she will soon welcome him in bed if he just gives her a little time and won't it be sweet when it happens.

There are no heavy winds today, just the rain. When he is ashore Hook can feel Pan's presence, stronger than he has ever felt it before. And it doesn't take him long to find him. But then Hook gets a surprise, and it's not a pleasant one, though it ought to have been that.

Pan lies on the ground, a thin form, drenched by the rain. The leaves that he is clad in are dry and brown, and for a moment Hook thinks that he is too late, that Pan is already dead. He bends down over the body, and then he can see that Pan still breathes, but he does it so shallowly, and it's clear that it's painful. When Hook touches him he can feel him burning with fever, and Hook looks at Pan and he realises that everything he hates is gone. There is no cockiness left, no self-assurance, no laughter. It's not Peter Pan that lies among the dead leaves, just a little boy, who stares up at him with dead eyes.

"They all left me, there is no one left."

Hook kneels beside him. He realises something. Wendy wasn't the last thing that Pan had. "Not quite. I'm still here."

Pan's eyes shift towards him. "Who are you?"

"Don't you know?" He holds up his sharp hook but Pan watches it without a glimmer of recognition.

The rain falls heavier, drops that eat their way into the thick velvet of Hook's coat. Pan curls up, shivering. He is deadly pale now, apart from underneath his eyes, were blue shadows seem to deepen even as Hook watches. It's amazing how quickly he deteriorates now when his bond to Wendy is gone. Only Wendy wasn't the last thing Pan had, it is Hook himself. The Captain is certain that all he has to do is get up and leave, and the boy will die, but he finds he doesn't care for that anymore.

It's one thing to burrow your sword into the heart of a laughing enemy, another altogether to see him fade away at your feet. Hook removes his coat, and wraps it around the boy. Pan weighs next to nothing, and he seems so brittle that Hook is afraid to crush him. Pan doesn't protest, instead he nuzzles closer to Hook. He truly has forgotten, Hook isn't an enemy for him anymore, but merely someone who brings him warmth and company when he thought everything gone.

Hook starts to walk toward the shore, long purposeful strides. Wendy will be able to nurse the boy back to health, and then they'll see. It won't matter that she is close to Peter anymore, not now, and it will make her happy. Thay may forge a new connection, but it won't be between two children anymore. Now it is just Hook that is between Pan and death, and that is what Hook has always wanted. He has won, and perhaps he will let Pan live after all. Hook is finally the one who has the power to decide that, he is, at last, in control. The pirate captain smiles as he walks, and around him and the boy the rain has stopped falling.

THE END


End file.
